It is difficult to say what was most terrifying about Alabama's 42-14 rout of Notre Dame in Monday night's national-championship game, the Crimson Tide's third title in four years.

Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback A.J. McCarron talks to reporters about the importance of taking the crowd out of the equation in Monday's BCS game against Notre Dame. Video by WSJ's Rachel Bachman via #WorldStream.

It might have been that Alabama's opponent was undefeated, higher-ranked (No. 1 to Alabama's No. 2) and, it seemed, favorably equipped to stop the Tide.

Maybe it was that Alabama's victory marked the seventh consecutive national title for the Southeastern Conference. In that span, three other so-called power conferences—the Big Ten, Big 12 and Pac-12—have tried to knock off the SEC. Now Notre Dame, the sport's greatest brand name, has failed as well.

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A.J. McCarron celebrates. Getty Images

Or perhaps what was most frightening was simply this: There appears to be no end in sight to the Tide's domination. "We're just a team hungry for dominance," Tide offensive guard Chance Warmack said.

Alabama became the first repeat champion in the 15-year history of the Bowl Championship Series, confirming that the Tide is, yes, on a roll. Alabama (13-1) ruined a chance at a perfect season for the Fighting Irish (12-1), who entered the game as 10-point underdogs despite their undefeated record and No. 1 national ranking. Notre Dame's last undefeated season was also the last time they won the national title—in 1988.

The game was never, ever in doubt. The Tide outgained Notre Dame on the ground 265 yards to 32. Alabama running back Eddie Lacy had 140 yards and a touchdown, and T.J. Yeldon had 108 yards and a touchdown of his own. Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron, the offensive MVP of last season's BCS championship game, was 20 for 28 with 264 yards and four touchdowns—two to freshman Amari Cooper.

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"If there's one word to describe this team," Cooper said just before a shower of postgame confetti, "it would be relentless."

Trophy-starved Irish fans turned out in the tens of thousands to cheer on the Irish's return to glory, encapsulated in the team's rise from being unranked in the preseason to the top spot in January. Notre Dame gained inspiration from the story told by Manti Te'o, which was later found to be false, that his girlfriend and grandmother died in the same September week.

A fan's sign outside the stadium before kickoff trumpeted many fans' belief that success this season was preordained: "Mantifest Destiny."

Seeing the Tide pound the program that counts 11 national titles and seven Heisman Trophy winners was like glimpsing the Notre Dame mystique in a pawnshop window. The Irish never had a chance. Everett Golson, Notre Dame's redshirt freshman quarterback, struggled to find open receivers. Meanwhile, Alabama's top-ranked defense suffocated the Fighting Irish's running backs.

"Their program is where we want to be, where every program in college football wants to be," Notre Dame offensive tackle Zack Martin said of Alabama.

Here's another troubling thought for non-Alabama fans: The Tide wasn't seen as a lock to repeat as champion this season. It began the season ranked No. 2. But despite losing six defensive players to the NFL draft last spring, the team still wound up with the nation's top-ranked defense.

More bad news for challengers: When major-college football's first postseason playoff starts in 2014, SEC dominance could take even deeper root. The current system caps the number of teams from the same conference in the five BCS bowl games at two. No such limit has been adopted for the playoff, which means fans could see two or even three teams from the SEC in the semifinals. Four SEC teams would seem unlikely, since some will be forced to lose to one another in the regular season.

After the game, Alabama coach Nick Saban reminded observers that the Tide came within five yards of losing to Georgia in last month's SEC title game. "It's a pretty tough league we play in," he said.

Still, Saban's dominance has grown to the point where it is seen as folly to bet against him, particularly when he has weeks to prepare for a game. The sixth-season Alabama coach's single-mindedness and control are so legendary—his assistant coaches are barred from doing interviews during the regular season—that a story traveling on Twitter on Monday afternoon seemed entirely plausible. It turns out, an Alabama spokesman confirmed, that Saban did not have officials at the team hotel disable the ESPN feed to players' televisions this week.

The untrue tidbit might have traveled so fast because people are fascinated by the secrets of this Alabama team, which seems to have a formula that is unique in the world. In recent years there is no antidote. To the rest of college football, that is scary.

The University of Notre Dame football team gained inspiration in the 2012-13 season from the story told by player Manti Te'o of the deaths of his girlfriend and grandmother in the same September week. However, a report by sports website Deadspin, which was confirmed on Jan. 16 by Notre Dame and Mr. Te'o, revealed that the girlfriend never existed. An earlier version of this article about Notre Dame's defeat in the national championship game mentioned the false anecdote.

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